Structural vibration control with spatially varied disturbance input using a spatial H_∞ method

An optimal H_∞ control framework is proposed to control structural vibration with spatially varying disturbance input. In this case, the disturbance input is not assumed to enter the structure at one or a few fixed locations, but it can enter at varying locations across the entire structure. The optimal control framework is developed by extending the spatial H_∞ norm concept for systems with spatially distributed input. The proposed control framework allows one to systematically design an optimal controller that performs optimally in the case where a disturbance may enter the system at different spatial locations. Numerical studies on a beam structure demonstrate how the proposed spatial H_∞ controller minimises vibration caused by a spatially varying bending moment.